Chocolate Kissed Peanut Butter Cookies

When I was contacted by C&H Sugar and asked to bake a holiday creation from their website in exchange for a gift card I could not resist. I was sent a gift card and purchased what I needed to make these delicious peanut butter kiss cookies. They were so good and devoured immediately in our house. Luckily, I did manage to freeze some for Christmas though. These cookies are so simple to whip up too.

Make sure to visit the C&H website. There are a ton of recipes, ideas for cookies exchanges, gift ideas and a ton of other stuff! You won't be disappointed!

Chocolate Kissed Peanut Butter Cookies

Description: Scrumptious Peanut Butter Cookies Made with Brown Sugar and Topped With a Chocolate Kiss

Cooking Time: Bake 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup C&H Pure Cane Golden Brown Sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (9 oz.) pkg. chocolate kisses, unwrapped
1/2 cup C&H Pure Cane Granulated Sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°F degrees. In large bowl cream peanut butter, brown sugar, and butter until smooth. Add egg and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. Stir together salt, baking soda and flour. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Shape dough into walnut-size balls, then roll in granulated sugar. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet, about two inches apart. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven and press a chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie. Return to oven for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Serving Size: Makes about 37 cookies.

Dorie...how I have missed you!

I'm back!! At least for this week. I can't make any promises about next. I have missed baking so much, especially TWD. But we have been so good with our diets around this house. I had to splurge and try the cookies that Pamela picked for her turn this month. I have been following her Cookies with Boys blog for quite some time now.


These cookies are outstanding. I loved them. So did the rest of my guys. I don't know if we liked them so much because there hasn't been a lot any baked goods floating around my kitchen or because they were simply that fantastic. I think it is the latter.

These flat cookies have ginger, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, molasses and brown sugar in them. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. Everything a cookie should be and so perfect for fall. The recipe made 28 decent sized cookies. I am sure that Pamela will have the recipe posted on her blog very soon and I will link to it at that time.


Do try them though! It is not easy to stop at one.

Banana Cookies - Taste and Create

For Taste & Create this month I was paired with Quick & Easy, Cheap & Healthy. Anne does an awesome job reviewing recipes, products and ingredients for quickness, easyness, cheapness and healthiness. After searching through her blog I couldn't pass on the banana cookies. I always have issues with bananas going bad. I have recently started freezing those nasty black bananas that attract fruit flies in my kitchen. I was getting quite a collection of these nasty black things in the freezer and had to do something about it.

This is a very good recipe for banana cookies. What I really like about it is that the cookies are very light and soft. I added some toffee chips that I had leftover and they were perfect. Everyone seemed to enjoy them here and they will make a perfect after school snack!

Banana Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground mace or nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives) I used toffee chips

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2 In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.
3 Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.
4 Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.
Makes about 30 cookies

Breakfast Cookies - CEiMB

I was the lucky one to choose this week's recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly. Sara and Nick wanted to allow some older members to be able to choose again, thus starting at the top of the list. Thanks!! I chose these yummy breakfast cookies.

Breakfast Cookies
2007 Ellie Krieger

Serves:
12 cookies, serving size 1 cookie

Ingredients
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Directions
Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies are good. However, walnuts are not a hit in our house. So I used chopped peanuts instead. I think that next time I will completely exclude any nuts. I think that they would be perfect without the nuts. Unfortunately, I was the only one in my household who liked the cookies. The boys don't like nuts or raisins. And my husband thought was scared of the baby carrots. I just froze them and am going to pull them out one at a time to enjoy for breakfast.

Thanks for baking these along with me!

Snickerdoodles

If you came here looking for jerk chicken with pineapple for Craving Ellie in My Belly you won't find it. I apologize. I looked at the recipe and while it looked good....it required a ton of ingredients that I didn't have on hand and didn't want to purchase this week. I am sure that both myself and The Hubster would have enjoyed it though. I will be back next week.

I made these cookies twice in the past 3 days. They are very good. The recipe is from Martha Stewart's COOKIES cookbook on page 82. I think that they are much better consumed the day of baking though (especially good while still warm). My only complaint is that they seem to dry out quickly, even when stored in airtight containers.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks butter, room temperature)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into twenty 1 3/4 inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Easter Cookies

I was inspired by My Baking Addiction for these cookies. I made them for a Easter Party for my son's pre-school class. They are delicious. But not what I had been expecting. The original recipe can be found HERE. I thought that they would be puffy and cakey. Not so much though (and I was a tad dissapointed). Mine were chewy, soft and awesome. I substituted Easter M&M's for the chocolate chips.

I wish that I could figure out what I did wrong and why they didn't turn out more cakier and puffy??

Coconut Butter Thins - TWD

I can't stop eating these. They are so, so, so good. I love lime and macadamia nuts. With the coconut these are delicious cookies.

The recipe was chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. The recipe can be found HERE or on page 145 in Dorie's cookbook. Her post is very cute and you should really check it out.

These cookies reminded me of the Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread cookies that I made awhile back doing a "catch-up" post. I was disappointed in those cookies because they spread so much and were very crunchy. I didn't want these cookies to turn out like that. So, I didn't make them until today and read the P&Q section carefully to determine how to bake mine. I decided to cut out a portion of the butter and used only 1 and 3/4 sticks of butter. I also partially froze the cookies after slicing and baking them. This seemed to do the trick and my cookies didn't really spread too much. They are also a little chewy, just the way I like them.

I will make these again for sure. They are a hit in our house. Thanks for the great pick Jayne.

Vanilla Malted Cookies

I participated in another bake along. I don't own the Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook but I wish that I did! I just can't resist a cookie bake along. I am not sure who chose the recipe but I found out about it on Megan's blog.

I was excited to bake these cookies because I have never used a real vanilla bean before. I thought that they would look just like regular old beans. I was surprised when I found the vanilla beans in the spice aisle. I was a long strand that was folded over and smelled incredibly good. And only one bean in the jar. Just not what I was expecting!

Vanilla Malted Cookies - Page 149
2 ¾ c. all purpose flour
¾ c. plain malted milk powder
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped and reserved
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Whisk together flour, malted milk powder, baking powder and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Mix in sugar and vanilla seeds. Add egg and vanilla extract, and combine. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and mix to combine.

Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a ½” star tip (such as Ateco #825). Pipe 2 ½” strips onto parchment lined baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake until bottom edges are golden brown, 11 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

My cookies will not resemble the others. I did not have a pastry bag, nor a star tip, such as Ateco #825?? HUH?!) I was going to use my Pampered Chef Decorator. However, I decided to be lazy after I made the dough and put it in the refrigerator to chill for over 24 hours before baking them. Therefore, the dough was hard and would not come out of the Pampered Chef decorator. I decided to just roll them into balls and bake them.

These cookies were very good. Some of them were very crunchy the next day (just like Nilla Wafers) and others were very soft and cake-like. I think that depended on how big I shaped the balls into or maybe I undercooked those ones. I would definetely make these again.

Great pick! I would love to make some lime meltaways that I read were in this cookbook for another bakealong.......??

Granola Grabbers - TWD

I can't begin to explain how good these are. I just won't do these cookies any justice. They are spectacular. I will make these again for sure. They disappeared from our house in less than 24 hours. YUMMY! The recipe can be found HERE. They were chosen back in August for TWD.

These little grabbers are made with granola, raisins, coconut, peanuts and wheat germ. They are crunchy and chewy at the same time. I think that they are one of my new favorite cookies. I am telling you....they are that good!!

World Peace Cookies - TWD

The recipe this week was chosen by Jess from Cookbook Habit. The recipe can be found HERE. I love cookies!!

These cookies are made with a specialty salt, fleur de sol or a fine sea salt. I was going to buy this special salt until I learned that it was $8.99 for a small bottle. The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon! Nope. Not happening here. I substituted coarse Kosher salt instead. Not sure that it made a difference or not? I also substituted semi-sweet chocolate for bittersweet. The cookies were fairly easy to put together. I coerced The Hubster into forming the dough into the logs. After chilling the dough for several hours, it was simple to slice the cookies and bake them.

I did like the cookies immediately when they came out of the oven. Even a couple hours after baking they tasted OK. However, 6-8 hours later, they tasted like sand. Very gritty! All I can taste is the gritty salt in them. I probably won't be making them again.

Traditional Madelines - TWD

This recipe was chosen back in May for TWD. The recipe can be found HERE.

I was so excited to make these cookies. Especially since I got my requested Madeline pan for Christmas! My sister knew that I wanted this baking pan since we saw it at a little specialty cooking store in Minocqua earlier this fall. She made "arrangements" so that I would get it for Christmas. I had no idea what a Madeline even was before I got this sweet cookbook.


These little cake/cookies are AH-MAZING. They were cakey, soft and had just a hint of lemon to them. They look like little seashells sprinkled with powdered sugar. The recipe made 12 and I am so ashamed to admit that I ate 6 of them in one day. I want to make another batch but I know that I will not be able to hold myself back.

I can't wait until someone else chooses to make more Madelines. There are more recipes for these delicious little cakes that are bound to be chosen at some point in time.

Mini Black & White Cookies

I participated in another bake along with Megan! I did my first one with her back in December and made chocolate crinkle cookies. I was very pleased with these cookies. I believe that the recipe came from Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook. It was a great choice and helped me use some of the leftover buttermilk from the corn muffins that I did not care for earlier this week. I didn't like the tedious frosting of them but they tasted very good in the end. I told the boys that they were zebra cookies. They liked them too and the entire batch disappeared in 2 days. They are very cake-like and soft.

My batch only made 3 dozen cookies. It was supposed to make 4. I always tend to make cookies bigger than they actually should be. The dough was also very hard to roll in balls initially after mixing. Thanks Martha for noting in the recipe that I should have chilled the dough for awhile (sarcasm). It would have been much easier to roll the dough into balls and made more uniformed cookies if I would have done so. I also would probably have been able to get 4 dozen as well. Oh well.

As for frosting these bad boys...this was the only part of the recipe that I didn't like. I don't have a lot of patience and maybe it was a good thing that I didn't have another 12 cookies to frost. My frosting also tasted more lemony than it should have. I didn't read the recipe well enough the first time through to learn that I should have thinned it with water. I just added some extra lemon juice. oops! I liked the lemon taste though. So did the rest of us. The Hubster did comment today that there was a very strong lemon taste to them though.

Ingredients
Makes about 4 dozen.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar; mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk.
2. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls (or use a 1/2-ounce-capacity ice-cream scoop); place them 2 inches apart on lined sheets. Bake until bottoms turn golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool.
3. Whisk confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. If necessary, add more water (icing should be a bit thicker than honey). Transfer half to a small bowl. Stir in cocoa; if necessary, thin with water. Spread white icing on half of each cookie's flat side, and cocoa icing on other half; let set 30 minutes.

Triple Chocolate Cookies - CEiMB

Chalked full of chocolately goodness......

I am getting this one posted just in the knick of time. These super chocolately cookies were chosen by Gabi from The Feast Within. You can find the recipe HERE that she posted on her blog. Her cookies look great. There appeared to be numerous ways that others went about and made them. Check out what some of the others did. Our talented host Gabi added baking powder and soda to get them to rise a bit.

I followed Jennifer's lead and substituted applesauce for the oil. I liked how hers looked like mini cakes. These cookies were very easy to put together. The only time consuming part was chopping the milk and dark chocolate, which didn't take long at all. The recipe said that it made 24 cookies. Mine only made 20. I also only added in approximately 1/4 cup of chopped pecans. I am not a nut fan in cookies but wanted to use up some pecans that I had. The cookies are very chocolately and go good with a big glass of milk. I don't know if I would make them again though.

Double Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Also known as: Chocolate Crinkles! When I made the Chocolate Crinkles from Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook last week, they sort of resembled another recipe that I have. But, I like this recipe much better. I put Hershey Kisses in the center and the kisses that I picked up had hot chocolate in the center. They are very good. They taste like brownie bites with a kiss in the middle. YUM!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Cocoa4 eggs2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 1/3 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoon salt
60 Hershey Kisses
Powdered SugarDIRECTIONS:In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil. Add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cocoa mixture.

Cover and chill for 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1” balls with Hershey Kiss in the middle. Roll balls in powdered sugar. Coat hands with powdered sugar to avoid sticking. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Magic in the Middles

I have been making a ton of cookies lately. Mostly for a cookie exchange and giving away as gifts. When I saw these cookies on Recipe Girl I thought they looked delicious. Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?

Magic in the Middles

DOUGH:

1½ cups (6¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar (plus extra for dipping)
½ cup (4 ounces) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (4 ounces or 1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup (2 3/8 ounces) smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

FILLING:

¾ cup (7 1/8 ounces) smooth peanut butter
¾ cup (3 ounces) powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2) Prepare dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beating to combine, then stir in dry ingredients, blending well.
3) Prepare filling: In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. With floured hands, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.
4) Shape cookies: Break off about 1 Tbsp. of the dough, make an indentation in the center with your finger, and press one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation. Bring the dough up and over the filling, pressing it closed; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
5) Dip the top of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass and use it to flatten each cookie to about ½-inch-thick.
6) Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, until they're set. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

Yield: About 26 cookies

Cooking Tips
*These cookies freeze well. They would travel well too.

Buttery Jam Cookies - TWD

This cookie recipe was chosen by Heather from Randomosity and the Girl. You can find the recipe HERE or on page 80 in Dorie's cookbook.

I thought that this was a good recipe. I used Smuckers Strawberry Jam. The strawberry and ginger spice combination was really good. The cookies had a nice flavor and were soft. From their appearance I thought that they were going to be crumbly, but that was not the case. These cookies are not the prettiest things though. I wish that I would have flattened them out a bit before baking. They literally stayed in the exact same shape that I dropped them on the cookie sheet before baking.

My husband and kids really enjoyed them as well. I would make these again and experiment with other jam flavors. Thanks for the great pick Heather! Check out what the other TWD'rs had to say.

Chocolate Crackles

Well...I don't think that Martha would be impressed! That is for sure. I decided to participate in a mini bake-along involving this recipe. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook. It appears that the cookies made by others (Nichi, Judy & Susan) turned out somewhat taller and the powdered sugar did not disappear. Mine were flat, flat, flat. And the powdered sugar just vanished when they were baking.

Chocolate Crackles

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used a milk chocolate Hershey candy bar)
1 ¼ c. all purpose flour
½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ c. butter, room temperature
1 ½ c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c. whole milk (I used 2% milk)
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over the top of a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide each piece into sixteen 1” balls. Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners sugar to coat. Space 2” apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.Bake until surfaces crack, about 14 minutes rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool on sheets on wire racks.

Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

I have no idea why my cookies turned out like this. Maybe I added too much baking powder. I will admit that I didn't measure that part out very good. I don't think that substituting milk chocolate for bittersweet would have affected it that much either (I really don't like bittersweet chocolate). The cookies taste great though. They are crispy and chewy at the same time. Just not very pretty.

I am probably not going to be making this recipe again. The dough was hard to shape into balls and ended up completely melting in my hands. I also have no idea why Martha suggests to divide the dough into quarters to then shape 16 cookies out of each quarter. I didn't get anywhere near 16 cookies out of each of these quarters either. Maybe 10?? I have a much better recipe for chocolate crackles, or something similar, and will post that recipe later this week.

Thanks Megan for sharing the recipe and letting me participate!

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

I found this recipe and knew I had to try it! I love cinnamon rolls and these little cookies looked so cute. I found the recipe at The Recipe Girl. The cookies are G 'double O' D...GOOD. Very addicting and especially tasty while warm. I was surprised that the recipe used powdered sugar instead of regular sugar. The cookies are a cross between kind of chewy and cakelike. The cinnamon taste is incredible and the frosting is to die for! I really like these cookies and will be making them again. The recipe also suggested not putting the frosting on the cookie but instead serving it in a bowl to dunk the cookies in. That might be a neat idea too!

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

VANILLA COOKIE DOUGH

½ cup (2 ounces) powdered sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups (6¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

MIDDLE:

1 large egg white
1 Tbs water
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon

ICING:

½ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs heavy whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon

1. Prepare dough: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla. Add the flour, stirring to make a cohesive dough. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

2. Roll the dough: Transfer chilled dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll it into a 9x12-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and water until foamy. Brush onto rolled out dough. In another small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it evenly over the dough. Starting with a long edge, carefully roll the dough into a log, sealing the edge (if dough sticks to parchment, gently use a metal spatula to guide it off of the paper). Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment, and freeze until firm.

3. Bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two cookie sheets. Remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, gently cut it into ½-inch slices. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

4. Ice the cookies: Sift or strain the powdered sugar into a medium-sized bowl to remove any lumps. Whisk the cream into the sugar to make a smooth icing. Drizzle or spread icing onto cookies (or serve alongside in a bowl for dipping).

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Grandma’s All-Occasion Sugar Cookies - TWD

Here it is....Tuesday again!! This recipe was chosen by Ulrike of Küchenlatein. The recipe is posted HERE or you can find it on pages 146-147 in Dorie's cookbook.


I will say that this recipe does not beat my mom's sugar cookie recipe. I like my mom's sugar cookies way better because they are so much moister than these are. I have tried to duplicate the recipe from my mom numerous times throughout the past several years and always get frustrated. I think that my problem is that I can't roll out dough to save my life. I can say without a doubt that this is due to my lack of patience.

Some of my cookies turned out chewy, some were a tad on the crisp side. I sliced some of the cookies thicker than the others using the "slice and bake" method. I shaped the dough into logs and froze it before slicing.


I thought that it would look festive to dunk the cookies in chocolate and decorate with Christmas sprinkles. We thought that the cookies tasted good. The kids especially liked them, of course.

Linzer Sables - TWD

THIS IS ONE GREAT RECIPE! I repeat, ONE GREAT RECIPE! The recipe for this week was chosen by noskos at Living the Life. A fabulous choice. The recipe can be found HERE or on page 134-135 in Dorie's cookbook.

These little cookies are not only delicious, but they are so stinking cute. I made stars out of mine and sandwiched them together with raspberry jam. The cookies were simple to put together and I thought that the dough was very easy to work with. The nice thing about these cookies is that you could make them year round with basically any type of cookie cutter to match the season.

The taste is good too. When first reading the recipe I had my doubts, mainly about the nuts and cloves. Again, I am not a nut fan and this recipe calls for a good sized portion of them. I think that since the nuts are finely ground (I used almonds) you can taste them but don't have to crunch through or see them. I was also surprised that the clove taste is delicious. A little spice...Huh, who knew?!

I am planning on making another batch of these later this week to take to a cookie exchange this weekend. The recipe yielded 25 cookies, however, I only got 22 sandwich cookies out of my batch. I rolled my dough a little less than 1/4" thick. The Hubster enjoyed them too!